"The first victory we can claim is that our hearts are free of hatred. Hence we say to those who persecute us and who try to dominate us: ‘You are my brother. I do not hate you, but you are not going to dominate me by fear. I do not wish to impose my truth, nor do I wish you to impose yours on me. We are going to seek the truth together’. THIS IS THE LIBERATION WHICH WE ARE PROCLAIMING."
Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas (2002)

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

OAS Secretary General Condemns New Imprisonment of López and Ledezma

"The Venezuelan regime continues to escalate its use of repression." - Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the OAS

Antonio Ledezma and Leopoldo López taken in the middle of the night

Secretary General Condemns New Imprisonment of López and Ledezma

August 1, 2017
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, today condemned the new imprisonment of Antonio Ledezma and Leopoldo López:

“This latest action taken without the minimum guarantees of any
legal framework is completely harmful to the human rights of both
leaders and their families.

In both cases, the detentions are carried out instilling fear and intimidation of their families.

The Venezuelan regime continues to escalate its use of repression.

On Sunday there were 16 indiscriminate murders of citizens who protested
against a fraudulent election and the installation of an illegitimate
national constituent assembly.

Today there was the selective targeting of opponents. The regime is
trying to silence Ledezma and López and, through them, silence and
subdue an entire people. It is no accident. They are opposition
political leaders in a framework of the social, political and economic
crisis of a Venezuela that is suffering to return to democracy.

There are no legal rationale for Ledezma and López to be in jail. This
is the same lack of rationale used in the cases all political prisoners.

The justifications are arbitrary and unlawful, among other things
because they ignore the health concerns- which have not changed- that
led to the leaders’ release, because they imply that they were planning
an escape, or because they broke a prohibition of making public
declarations.

These are errors in the manipulation and use of the law that are made by
the Regime. They are imprisoned because they are politicians who
demonstrate leadership. They are imprisoned because they are hostages of
the government.

I urge the international community, the countries of the OAS, the United
Nations, the European Union and the Vatican, among others, to continue
to adopt measures to defend democracy and human rights in Venezuela.

We admire the determination and courage of the Venezuelan people, the
strength shown in the face of danger by the young people who protest,
the women who march, the doctors who care for those injured by the
repression, the religious figures who call for a stop to the repression,
the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, who denounce these facts every
day.

Our international solidarity can only be with those who claim their
rights and not those who deny and repress them, those who are tortured
and not their torturers, the victims and families of the victims and not
their murderers.

For the corrupt, the murderers and the torturers, the international community must reply with the greatest severity.

In Venezuela today we are faced with a dictatorship that is afraid of
its people and of international sanctions for their criminal actions.
The way to overcome fear is not to harden repression, not to imprison
political leaders, not to continue to violate the human rights of the
people. If there is more repression and human rights violations, the
actions and sanctions of the international community will have to be
tougher. It is clear, repression does not stop the people, it
strengthens their determination and makes their protest that much more
necessary.

I reiterate that the only possible solution in Venezuela is an immediate
call for full elections, including national and international electoral
observation, the end of the repression, the release of all political
prisoners, the restoration of the powers of the National Assembly, the
opening of a humanitarian channel, and the cancellation of the
fraudulent National Constituent Assembly. The mechanism for this is a
negotiated exit between the regime and the opposition, one that includes
Antonio Ledezma and Leopoldo López. A negotiation in which includes the
Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, and uses the best mechanisms of the
hemispheric community for monitoring political commitments. A peaceful
path toward peace and a democratic path toward democracy in Venezuela.”